My favourite movies

Why is this number one? Choosing a best movie is too hard, as it would depend on what factor I would focus on, thus the outcome would always be different. This is my favourite movie, the one I would always choose as favourite over any others. Its atmosphere is haunting and it contains great acting by Sutherland and Christie, moody cinematography and a whole number of memorable scenes and images. Repeated viewing makes the movie increasingly more disturbing, knowing how the story unfolds.

edit: With a new Bluray out and having only seen worn-out imperfect versions over the years, it was time for a re-watch.

Don't Look Now has always been my 'official' favourite movie, and in all honesty I know it is not a faultless movie. There are other movies on this list that are probably more complete and all-round perfect. But Don't Look Now has always done something quite unlike any other movie out there: I am able to totally emerge in it. Every re-watch sheds new light on several details I did not note before. It is indeed a movie that increasingly gets better with every re-watch.

Roeg's movie is an incredibly layered movie. His editing and camera work are highly effective in creating associations between scenes and images that are narratively not immediately related. The famous sex scene is always mentioned as the best example in this movie of his intertwined cutting. It is indeed beautifully done, but there is so much more of the intertwined cutting. The images of water and glass are constantly used to re-evoke the death of the couple's daughter. As characters turn their head, Roeg switches to characters in another place, also turning their head, relating them as if they were in one room. It strengthens the movie's second sight theme through mere visuals.

Venice is beautifully shot. Not as a postcard, but as a place of dread, grief and fear. This Venice is like a mortuary, devoid of people and beauty. It tries to put the characters wandering through it on a wrong track, wanting them either gone or devouring them inside.

Sutherland and Christie are realistically human. Sutherland seems to simultaneously underact and overact at first, but easing in, he fits extremely well in his character. Christie manages to get across the loving, but slightly unstable traits of her character. It is just Sutherland and Christie though that seem human (and even Sutherland's character is portrayed in an ambigious way at points). Other supporting characters seem as much part of the dread of Venice. The father, the chief of police and the two sisters are extremely ambigious: their eyes do frighten more than they reassure you.

Many people have been disappointed by the ending twist and it possibly is in a first watch. But this particular scene is the key to the whole movie: the story is an existential one, about fate. All of the themes in the story before are strengthened by it. It is a much more satisfying one than what would be expected. And indeed, during re-watches the scene is stronger than it ever was: it is an absolutely chilling scene.

Don't Look Now is so often overlooked. If you haven't yet, watch it. And then again...

Glorious Technicolor cinematography, a fantastic plot and innovative camera work. It was the movie that made me realise for the first time how visually beautiful movies can be.

edit after re-watch: Revisiting a movie you have placed very high on your lists is always tricky, a case of "Has it stood the test of time, do I still like it as much?". Vertigo, number 2 on my list of favourites, remains on that spot.

I find it hard to describe what truly makes Vertigo a great movie. In ways, it could even be said that the plot is inconsequential and seems to have a number of plot-holes. But this is Hitchcock, who not always explains everything through narrative, sometimes opting for subtle movements, even moods or colours to connect parts of stories. And in a strange fulfilling way, Vertigo seems complete because of this.

Right from the bat Vertigo feels different to what has come before in Hitchcock's oeuvre. The opening titles, Herrmann's music (one of the best scores ever committed to tape), the colours form a hypnotic opening. The movie includes all of Hitchcock trademarks (mystery, twists, suspense, an eye for visual shots, great use of music and technique) but on the whole it feels different. It plays on the mind. The themes of the movie seem to have found their way into the directional style as well: it feels despaired, obsessed, restless. There is an incredibly high number of exquisite locations used here, but this is not just scenery candy. Just like the characters, the movie never seems to settle in one place, always on the move from one place to another ("wandering around" as two of the main characters say). It is Hitchcock's way of saying that their characters have not found what they are looking for yet. The scenes use colour not as mere wallpaper, but as feeling, mood. The neon colours used in the second part of the movie not only are stunning to look at, but seem to tell the viewer of instability, falseness. Hitchcock and Robert Burks outdid their selves here, upping colour to the extreme.

Vertigo is not a logical movie in the sense of straight-forwardness. But it hypnotises and then somehow seems appropriately fitting. On a subconscious level it all clicks. I find myself drawn back to it every once in a few years, still lingering somewhere deep down there in my subconscious.

Contains what are probably the most beautiful visuals I have ever seen in a movie. While this aspect alone would warrant a position in this list, it is also the great direction, plot, acting and music selections that turn this movie, in my opinion, into Kubrick's masterpiece. It is also his most underrated work unfortunately...

Far and away Ridley Scott's best work, this is one of the few key visionary works in movie history. Also contains one of the best scores ever by Vangelis. The Final Cut version is the best version to see.

As illustrated by the various bans at the time, A Clockwork Orange was quite controversial when released due to its depiction of violence and sex. 40 years later, it is still misunderstood sometimes. Yet, the movie was never about glorifying violence and sex, but more so about bringing moral questions about our societies and freedom of will and ideology to the surface. The key scene is the one where the 'cured' Alex is presented to a group of (state) officials.

I could write about the astonishingly good visuals, the brilliant camera work, the great use of music and sound or the breathtaking scene with the stork in the forest. And even though they are all fundamental to it, they would only downplay the immensely strong feeling the movie evokes. Never have I seen war documented so harsh as in Idi i Smotri. It has such a devastating intensity and a constant (almost too) realistic sense of fear in it that you feel drained and empty after viewing it.

To describe Persona within few sentences does not do it justice as it is so complex and layered. Persona is a fascinating analysis of behaviour, relationships and analysis itself. Technically, it also pushes the boundaries of movie making, experimenting with editing, composition, sets and minimalistic acting. The black and white contrasts are stunning.

The pinnacle of the Star Wars story. A movie that boasts so many absolute iconic images/moments (the imperial walkers, Yoda introduction, I am your father, frozen Han Solo, first time we see the Emperor, and several more); moments that are identifiable by half of the world has certainly done things right. Moreover, it is incredibly tight for an action movie / blockbuster.

A perfect movie. Outstanding in its storytelling. If you were going to see only one black-and-white movie, make it this one.

The best horror movie, one of the scariest too. Claustrophobic, atmospheric, perfectly symmetric shots. And a truly memorable Jack Nicholson

David Lynch's first full-length remains one of the most unsettling movies I have seen. Cryptic, mysterious and sometimes plain weird, Eraserhead is a movie able to let you experience what the main character, the father of a newborn, feels.

Lots of strange and dark stories about the filming process surround Apocalypse Now. While this is undoubtedly been part of the myth of the movie, without the stories the movie is still a beast waiting to be unleashed, which it finally is during its final moments. The movie is one of the famous Vietnam war movies, but also one of the few movies which succeeds in conveying the force of nature, here channelling the increasing descent into the darker corners of man's mind (it is actually based on the novel Heart of Darkness, which was not set during the Vietnam war but in Congo a century earlier).

TV series are not included in this list, yet I have to make an exception for Twin Peaks, which is of such cinematic quality (and was eventually also developed into a movie) that it deserves to be on this list. With Twin Peaks, David Lynch gave us a unique world of mystery, melancholy, fantasy and mystique. While in basis at first a 'who dunnit', the series quickly proved it had several tricks up its sleeve in the form of otherwordly characters, dreams and unpredictable plot twists. Although often criticised and certainly not perfect, the movie spin-off Fire Walk with Me is well worth watching too.

Lost Highway is the most nightmarish of Lynch movies. It is dazzling in its narrative, yet it is all held together by great direction. Also, the Mystery Man is a total creep. Great soundtrack too, with beautiful use of Bowie's I'm Deranged, setting the tone perfectly from the first shot.

edit after re-watch: I could not never forget the opening shot with Bowie's I'm Deranged loudly over it, as I couldn't forget the Mystery Man or Dick Laurent's outburst in the middle of the movie. But I kind of had forgotten many of the dark little details that make this movie such a powerful experience. This is David Lynch all-out. In every possible way he's making it creepy here, using unconventional lighting, camera shots that are hovering above people, jarring cuts. And then there's the impeccable sound design, which does so much: the low drones, the rumbling, the telephone ringing. If all of that doesn't make you at least a little uneasy, well, I don't know.

I had forgotten too about the beautiful cinematography that's in here, although sometimes masked. The rooms may look ugly and plain, but a lot of work went into that to make it look that way. The camera shots and lighting are such that they invoke a certain specific feel. And then there's the flat-out beautiful cinematography, such as the house burning in reverse, and Patricia Arquette waving her in slow-motion lit by a car's headlights.

The plot is classic cryptic Lynch (and - I think - pretty much solvable) puzzle, but I never get the sense any of it is unplanned or shouldn't be there. Every bit seems essential to the total, be it to the plot or to the overall atmosphere that is being created.

Lost Highway is such a powerful and intense experience, and it's definitely a personal favourite. Hence it's raised position.

What may seem like an over-long movie at first is actually a slowly unfolding Vietnam war tragedy that builds and builds until it is let loose somewhere halfway. What is shown from there on is psychologically intense and horrific. Search no longer for Christopher Walken's best role, it can be found here.

After his famous Dollar trilogy, Sergio Leone did another western. Whereas the previous movies were lighter and ultimately fun to watch, this time however his focus is on anger, loss and vengeance. The result is just as good and proved how the western as a genre is capable of intense and layered plots.

edit after re-watch: Once Upon a Time in the West was one of the reasons I watched all of Sergio Leone chronologically again, seeing how I did not see it for a long, long time, quite a way before I saw all the others. I did hold it in high regard, but without any true reference to the others. Seeing it, in chronological order after the Dollars trilogy, was a satisfying experience. The trilogy, using visual language over lengthy dialogues, already felt like a contrast to similar western entertainment. Ultimately, even with its moments of light and (increasing) darkness the trilogy can be classified as entertainment. There is nothing wrong with that, after all Leone's best scene is the climax of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Without in any way objecting to it, I feel I need to state it though, to show how different Once Upon a Time in the West is. Once Upon a Time in the West feels like a more ripened version of the trilogy, like an evolvement of what came before. Leone invests considerably and consistently to let this movie ring on an emotional level. Characters are driven by anger, grief or know that they are on their way out. No unneccessary comic side-characters here, but definitely strong support characters (Morton and Cheyenne). Even in moments of quietness, there is always a sense of solemness or remorse. The sets are less theatrical and dustier, grittier, rougher. The on-location sets form a powerful underlining to all of it. And then there's Morricone's score, which is truly outstanding and among the best ever made. The well-known Harmonica theme is haunting, but it is the melancholic title track that truly hits it for me. The climax where everything comes together is on a level of its own, and Leone gives us everything here. While visually stunningly brought, it is not so much a theatrical tour-de-force as in TGTBATU. But it functions as a climactic release in that it reveals an important part of the story and pays off the tension that is being built to through sound and vision. Seeing this again, this gets an upgrade: 10/10

Hitchcock opting to go a little more low-budget was the fitting choice for this movie. There is a sleazy, dirty atmosphere in Psycho that is in such contrast with what Hitchcock did before. The Bates motel is cheap and simple, but also look at the intro scene where a couple are cheating somewhere in an anonymous room in an anonymously large building. The famous shower murder scene is rightly famous and executed flawlessly. While horror has gone into far more gruesome territory these days, the scene is very effective even today. But that is just one scene. Psycho is more than that. The Bernard Herrmann score is stunning, and much more than just the sound effects in that one scene. It embodies the instability that is in the story. The black-and-white setting could have been a step back from colour, but it looks superb here. Just look at the ominous bright light coming from windows in the dark house on top of the hill, which itself creates a scary silhouette against the dark night sky. And the living room with the stuffed birds, where the lighting creates eerie shadows on the wall. The plot is very much toying with the viewer. The most amusing part of the story is how the large sum of money is a carefully chosen catalyst that is ultimately of no value. Psycho is an easy-to-follow story, but when looking at what sets off what, it has an intelligent script. If I were truly nitpicking, the third part with the couple visiting the Bates Motel is a little less interesting, due to the plainness of the two actors, but Psycho is focused and well-paced enough that this is not so much of an annoyance.

This underrated gem is a fantastic surprise! Angel's Egg just oozes mystery. At first this seems like an ode to atmosphere and texture (which I was fine with and would have made a great movie already), but the story that slowly comes out from underneath it has a certain grandeur and emotional release in it. I was deeply affected by one scene in particular that starts with the very long still shot of the man sitting beside the bed where the girl sleeps. Had the scene ended there it would have been engraved in my mind already, but to see the man reveal himself finally and smash the egg topped it off. The atmosphere is at points reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as Alien. The images have a lethargic quality to them and remind me of Edvard Munch.

edit after re-watch: What a delightful movie. On second watch, it still resonates. Perhaps in different ways, as the development of the story is less shocking, but on the other hand I could focus more easily on the character traits, knowing more about them.

The drawn landscapes are among the most beautiful things I ever saw. Those first 10 minutes with the girl wandering through that dark, desolate landscape are of a sublime dark beauty. The soundtrack is quite haunting too.

The most magnificent scene of the movie is very different to watch this second time: knowing how the man is not guarding the girl, but waiting for her to fall asleep to finally smash the egg open, is devastating to watch if you all know it in advance. It didn't have the same shocking impact on me as it did have last time, but the knowledge of knowing what is to come and watching the man wait in cold silence is disturbing. It is the key scene of the movie to me.

Taxi Driver is as actual today as it was then, with a single human deciding he has had enough. It is to Scorsese's credit that he is able to make this movie with a strong message, while never being overly obvious with it, letting the viewer judge the characters for himself. Even its humorous moments are, when looking closer, ultimately tragic in nature.

This movie about the Holocaust is often praised, and rightly so. While Spielberg has sometimes been somewhat Hollywood-minded or sentimental in some of his other movies, here he is spot on and not compromising, giving us a movie that is tragic and painful to watch, but also incredibly honest.

One of the most visual striking black and white movies. The scenes with Orson Welles are hypnotic. The ferry wheel scene would rate as one of my top 10 movie scenes.

Requiem for a Dream, about addiction and lost causes, is a horrible and unsettling experience. It is incredibly strong too. Aronofsky's editing is good, but the main strength is the overbearing sadness as if the movie is screaming: don't do this!! Ellen Burstyn was (rightly) nominated for the Oscar, Jennifer Connelly should have won it.

Sadly Sergio Leone's last movie, showing a very different and more mature version of him than in his earlier westerns. Leone leads Robert de Niro's in his best, and wonderfully understated, role ever; although the rest of the cast (especially James Woods) is equally impressive as well. The movie's narrative, cinematography (the Brooklyn bridge shot!) and incredibly sad Morricone score are all very noteworthy too.

edit after re-watch: Rated slightly too high previously (I now remember I originally gave it 9/10 and only bumped it up to 10/10 in hindsight). But this is in many ways a grand movie, among the best made. It continues Leone's increased focus on the emotional value of a movie, something he started with Once Upon a Time in the West, carried on in Duck You Sucker and finds its destination here, culminating in his most mature and poignant movie. Of all his movies, this is the one that is most about story and less about visuals. The characters here are very developed and layered, ending up somewhere totally different as where they started. Still, the visuals are as beautiful as any other Leone movie. There's his highly natural colours, perfect compostions, slowly moving shots and of course that beatiful Brooklyn bridge shot. Even putting it against some of the other stellar Robert de Niro performance, I think this is his best. It is diverse, understated and subtle. The scenes with an aged De Niro have a tenderness and tragedy to them that is hardly seen in other De Niro roles. One of the scenes that stood out to me was the rape scene. There are several rape scenes in movie history shown in various terrifying ways. But this scene differs: many other movies have a villain or bad guy rape the girl. Yet here it is the good guy, the one guy who truly cared about the girl and she for him. When she rejects him and he rapes her, it is not just about her being raped, but it also embodies how everything has gone wrong for him. The scene rings through in many heartbreaking ways Ennio Morricone turns in an outstanding score again, and while not topping his score for Once Upon a Time in the West, it is again a winner.

While not necessarily realistic, Festen is probably the most pure and honest but also detailed depiction of unspeakable family secrets. The story needs no elaborate effects or props as the strong dialogues form its core. Finterberg starts peeling shell after shell, baring the family members' truth and ugliness. As each shell is peeled, the movie's tension increases.

A lot of symbolism is scattered throughout The Seventh Seal, none of it without reason. At the same it also resonates clearly in the scenes where Max von Sydow plays chess with Death: these scenes with their stark black and white contrasts are iconic and unforgettable.

Kubrick is the main provider of high entries in this list. Although I personally rate a few of his higher, 2001: A Space Odyssey is without doubt his most important movie and in fact one of the most important in movie history. 99% of science-fiction movies can in some way be led to 2001. The movie is incredibly innovative technically and daring in its minimal story. The marriage of music and floating space ships changed our view of space ships forever.

An extraordinary movie in the silent era. Its five hours are (nearly) entirely justified, with hardly any less interesting material in it. The acting is remarkably good and lively. The direction is nothing short of astounding, using many techniques that are not seen in the silent era or as advanced as seen here. A few examples I found notable: 1. inventive overlays, sometimes creating quite spooky imagery; 2. passe-partout framing, singling out certain aspects of the image; 3. rapid-fire editing; 4. the triptych, creating an overload of information or an impressive wide angle. A criminally underrated movie, although it has its vocal fanbase.

version: I watched the 1983 Kevin Brownlow version with correct speed and Carl Davis soundtrack. This unfortunately does only include the middle screen of the triptych ending the movie. I also watched the final fifteen minutes with the triptych from Coppola's version. I can say that the triptych instead of just the middle screen is far, far better. Carmine Coppola's soundtrack, while certainly accomplished, is trumped by the Carl Davis soundtrack which is if anything more fitting.

There were always shades of absurdity in previous Godards. In Weekend only the absurd reigns. Weekend is totally anarchistic. In his previous movies a general recurrence was the demystifying of aspects of cinema or genres. Weekend goes a whole step further and demystifies cinema as a whole: cinema is often idealistic, glossy, glorious and unreal. I do not oppose to that - this stance has produced great movies - but the exact other side of the scale is just as interesting. In Weekend Godard has found this exact opposite. Not totally unimportant, Weekend is not only an intellectual exercise, but is also hilarious.

Stalker's story is largely found in between the dialogue. Throughout, there is a constant ominous and foreboding feel, conveyed through beautiful cinematography. Stalker is like a journey to an entirely different place, a place we are not quite sure of what it brings.

Cinema Paradiso is a movie about the strength of memory. But ultimately it is about passion. Passion can easily be over-emphasised or kitsch, but Cinema Paradiso possesses a very rare honesty: there are many scenes here that are heartfelt, warm and beautiful.

A movie that is overlooked a lot, or so it seems. Brazil is fascinatingly creative at points, but at the same also quite powerful in its bleak portrayal of future society.